Most horse racing equipment is not that much different from the needs of a normal horse and I say normal because most race horses are mental. It is not their fault of course they are put into high pressure situations, in small yards most of the time and fed on food designed to make them full of angst and energy, so they are going to be a challenge to be around. This does not make it any easier to like them when they are standing on your foot, shoving up you against the side of a stable wall and biting your ear, when all you want to do is feed and water them and clean up their leavings.

The real big differences are the training facilities that are available to a racing horse, swimming pools Melbourne, and special round yards and of course the race track. The saddle is another area that is rather different, it has to be safe but light weight, so that the horse is right weight for race day, the jockey has to keep enough weight off as it is without having to factor in a huge heavy saddle. They are basically there for the jockey to put their feet in the stirrups anyway the amount of time they actually spend with bum on saddle is minimal.

Once a horse is broken in they can look forward to a life that is ninety percent leisure and ten percent exercise, the leisure part is what turns them mental, they are bored and cooped up in a yard, with a dozen or so other horses that are just as bad and so bad habits breed more bad habits. Some days when you come into work you can see them nudging each other through the stalls and seem to be conspiring on ways to make your life a living nightmare of trodden feet, nips and bites and if you are not careful a carefully placed kick. All the while you are trying to get the work done, by the end of the day you will be a mass of bruises and wondering where the nearest glue factory is.

In the racing business most of the details are left to the trainer and what he thinks is the best way to get the results from a horse and they all have their own way of doing this, so there will be the normal amount of similar equipment at a racing stable but then there will be some things that you have never seen or rarely because the trainer has designed them himself or very few people use them. It is an exclusive world, that has many rules and regulations and once you are accepted into the racing fraternity it is like you have a whole new family, most of which you would love to put into a mental institution and forget about forever.